


More Than One Person, Doing The Same Thing

by unadrift



Category: Killjoys (TV)
Genre: Brothers, Captain Apex, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Team, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 01:32:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12830499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unadrift/pseuds/unadrift
Summary: Bedtime stories, or how Captain Apex came to be a member of the team.





	More Than One Person, Doing The Same Thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tryslora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryslora/gifts).



> Dear tryslora, Happy Yuletide to you! I had a lot of fun writing friendship & team for this fandom and these characters. Thank you for this assignment! I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> This is set around the end of S1 and beginning of S2. It refers directly to the final scene in episode 1x08 _Come the Rain_. But honestly, if you remember who/what Captain Apex is, we're good to go.
> 
> A big thank you goes to my beta reader egelantier!

 

When everything sucks, when the universe is gleefully fucking with them – which, let's be honest, is on any day ending in 'Y' right now – Dutch turns up in Johnny's room at night, or Johnny finds Dutch.

For a bedtime story.

Okay, that's maybe a little bit weird, Johnny has to admit, but it's their new thing. If nothing else goes their way, at the end of the day they at least get to have that. Insomnia is much easier to take when the night is spent sprawled out next to Dutch, reading out loud with awesome voice impressions. Like that first night, after D'avin had gifted Johnny with his lost _Captain Apex_ issue and left the team and the ship, because there was no quick fix for them.

Dutch and Johnny get through half of Issue 41 that night. His high-pitched princess voice amuses and offends Dutch in equal measure until she can't seem to decide whether to laugh or glare. It also makes him hoarse. But hey, it's a small price to pay for an effective distraction. Dutch falls asleep right after the Velubian Princess seduces and fights herself out of the latest sticky situation.

The night before their team, the whole team, plans to infiltrate the Rack, the night before their professional divorce, Dutch is waiting for Johnny in his room with Issue 41 hugged to her chest.

"I'm reading this time," she says.

Johnny points at her as he toes off his shoes. "Don't skimp on the voice impressions. Mine were awesome, and you know it."

Dutch rolls her eyes and lies down on her stomach, leaving just enough room for him on the bed. "We haven't even started and you're already complaining?"

She opens the comic book at the place Johnny had marked the last time.

" _Below the surface, in near-darkness, the Princess silently makes her way through the Admiral's compound_ ," she reads.

The Velubian Princess kicks ass and rescues Captain Apex from his captors so that together they can save the galaxy from the dastardly Admiral's weapon of mass destruction. Johnny compliments Dutch on her deep, menacing villain impression, but he secretly finds it very, very creepy. They fall asleep next to each other, Dutch's hand closed around Johnny's wrist.

The next day, Khlyen takes D'avin.

During the days after, with no immediate promising leads to follow, they are both increasingly wired and going more than a bit crazy. Things get a little out of hand, until Lucy retreats behind a scarily effective firewall to avoid the "unreasonable and uncalled-for" outbursts from her crew. Johnny takes her "until further notice" to mean that they are grounded until he and Dutch calm the fuck down and start making sense again.

They read through the entire Issue 16, _The Grim Enforcer_ that night.

"Captain Apex says: _You were like a brother to me, and this is who you choose to be? You betrayed me._ " Johnny swallows hard and continues in his Grim-Enforcer voice. " _I never wanted this. I had no choice._ " Dutch leans her head on his shoulder.

Neither of them get what any reasonable person would call rest that night, but it's enough for a somewhat fresh start in the morning.

Not much later, when they can both barely look straight from lack of sleep and still have nothing to show for it, Johnny digs up number 17, the next in the story arc. Dutch nods off at the most suspenseful point in the plot. (How in the hells?)

" _The Summiteer spins gently out of control, her orbit collapsing closer and closer towards the red dwarf. Captain Apex, adrift in his spacesuit, can only watch the soundless explosion as the spaceship he calls home is crushed by immense gravity_ ," Johnny finishes the page.

It's a truly awful place to stop, but if Dutch wants a cliffhanger so badly, she will bloody well have it. He pulls a blanket over her and retreats to his own bed.

"Poor Captain Apex," says Lucy, as soon as his door is closed.

"Poor Summiteer," says Johnny. "Night, Luce."

"Good night, Johnny."

Cliffhanger or not, he falls asleep thinking he has never been more grateful for his comic book collection.  


\- - -

  
This is a bad night, Johnny can tell. Well, it's a worse night. Bad nights are kind of par for the course at the moment, with D'avin still gone.

Johnny picks out another issue of _Captain Apex_ from his stash, one not featuring kidnappings or people going missing. Going by these parameters, it's surprisingly slim pickings. He goes with Issue 25, _The Ice Giant_.

"Are you kidding me? We don't have time for this right now," Dutch says when he finds her pacing on the bridge.

"It's going to take Lucy at least another four hours to run the analysis," Johnny tells her. "And she'll let us know if one of our contacts gets back to us, won't you Luce?"

"Without delay," Lucy confirms.

"Good girl."

"You're welcome, Johnny."

Lucy isn't supposed to have varying degrees of inflection or emphasis, but she does seem especially pleased when he praises her. Screw protocols, no technician is ever going to "decontaminate" her memory banks and live, not if Johnny can help it.

He pokes Dutch in the chest and she actually lists a little to the side before glaring at him. He raises his hands in a placating fashion.

"If there was ever a good time to get some rest, it's now," he says. "Unless your big plan is to defeat Khlyen with your mighty snore."

"Once again, I do not snore!" Dutch snaps.

This is an old argument of theirs. It's usually light-hearted and teasing. This time, she gets in his face. Johnny doesn't back away. He stopped being intimidated by Dutch a long time ago, probably around the time he started trusting her with his life.

"Suuure," he drawls and looks at her hands, which are clutching his jacket. "You don't have a short fuse either."

All that exhausting-looking tension leaves her in one long breath.

"I see your point," she says and lets him go.

"Of course you do. When am I ever wrong?"

"You don't want me to answer that, do you?"

He smirks. He doesn't feel much like doing it, but someone has to keep up morale around here. "Come on, Captain Apex is facing his most dastardly foe yet."

She turns away from him to look out the front window.

"We're going to find him," Johnny promises and puts a hand on her shoulder.

The universe will not make a liar out of him. It's not allowed.

Dutch covers his hand with hers. They stay like that for a long time, until Dutch turns and looks him up and down. "You look like shit, Jaqobis."

"Why thank you," Johnny quips. "And you're positively radiant right now."

"Rest. Now," Dutch orders and manhandles him off the bridge, as if this had been her idea all along.  


\- - -

  
"Okay, wait," Dutch says. "If the Ice Giant's Blue Gaze freezes everything, why isn't the building damaged? He very clearly got to the security guards through the facade here, and the glass panels are still intact here." She stabs her finger to the appropriate place on the page. "And by the way, that's a completely stupid superpower. Give me the Enforcer's telekinesis any day. He'd knock the Ice Giant on his ass like that in a fight."

Funny, Johnny had never thought of Dutch as prime fangirl material. Awesome and badass, yes. Geeky? No. Johnny opens his mouth. Closes it. Finally says, "Marry me."

Dutch punches him in the arm. "What, and ruin this wonderful thing we have? Never."

Johnny smiles and buries his face in her shoulder. Then he patiently explains why she's wrong, wrong, ridiculously wrong. Dutch argues back fiercely. It's the best time he's had in a while, until he remembers what's missing from it. He rolls onto his back and looks at the ceiling.

"Let's agree to disagree," Dutch says with a sideways glance.

She drops the comic book over the edge of the bed and lies down next to him, their shoulders touching.

"You know, I missed the stupid grunt, as soon as he left the ship," Johnny says. "How can I miss him and be terrified of him at the same time? Like… like someone flicked a switch in my hindbrain. I see him and... Instant panic. I know it wasn't his fault. He wasn't himself. But it was still his face I saw when..." He swallows.

"Yeah," Dutch says and squeezes his hand. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"It'll just take time," Johnny says. "When we get him back, we'll get through this."

"Yes, we will," Dutch says, and it sounds like a vow.  


\- - -

  
They get D'avin back. They get him back with new and unknown features, but they get him back. It's great. Great, but... weird. When business is dealt with between the three of them, it's still all awkwardness and stilted conversation.

"This is ridiculous," D'avin mutters into his glass, hunched over the table.

"Agreed," Johnny says and keeps looking at that interesting spot on the ceiling.

Dutch makes one more trip from the doorway to the cooking unit to the table.

"Just..." D'avin rubs a hand across his face. "Let's just go to sleep. It's been a long..."

Dutch stops and glares at him. "Year?" she offers.

"You can say that again," Johnny says.

D'avin gets up and downs his drink. "Yeah, good talk. Let's continue this tomorrow. It's gonna be fun."

The glass surprisingly doesn't break when he slams it on the table and walks out.

Dutch resumes her pacing. Finally, she walks into Johnny's field of vision and looks down at him. "How do we fix this?"

Johnny sighs. "Do I look like a shrink to you?"

She crosses her arms and regards him seriously. "Honestly, little bit."

Johnny raises his eyebrows. "I think I'm insulted."

"He's your brother," Dutch points out.

"Somehow that never seemed to help either of us much."

Johnny breaks eye contact and pours himself another drink. It would be so nice to vanish into the bottle right now, just for the night, he thinks. Of course there is still no quick fix for them. Of course their collective baggage could still fill the cargo hold of a very large metaphorical freighter, and their conjoint shit still needs wading through.

Dutch grabs him by the chin and tilts his face up. She looks angry enough to spit fire. "That is utter bullshit. Think about these last few months and say that again."

Johnny pulls away from her strong grip. "Fine," he says, "but it doesn't make me the expert here. Do you feel like having a heart-to-heart with him right now? I know I don't."

"So we don't talk," Dutch says.

She has her I've-got-a-plan face on. Johnny loves that face because he loves her plans. Most of the time. Except when they're crazy. He hopes this isn't one of those plans.

"Maybe we do some reading instead," she says, and he loves this plan alright.

"You go get your brother. Meet me at mine." Dutch vanishes from the room more quickly and quietly than the laws of physics should allow.

Johnny follows at a more sedate pace. Some people aren't freaky ninjas who could walk a tightrope on a bottle of Pree's worst moonshine. At least D'avin doesn't keep him waiting too long. He opens the door after the second knock. He's already in sweats, which reminds Johnny. He'll have to get changed, too.

"Johnny? Is something wrong?"

"Come on," Johnny says, beckoning with his hand. "We're meeting for a bedtime story."

D'avin's face is one big question mark. "What?"

"Just follow me. You'll like it, I promise. We'll have to stop by my room first."

Of course D'avin keeps pestering him all the way to his room and continues while Johnny is changing his clothes. And of course Johnny gives in.

"You're reading _Captain Apex_ with Dutch?" D'avin repeats incredulously. "Really? You were too old for those stupid stories when you were twelve!"

Johnny pulls his favorite soft shirt over his head and turns to glare at his brother. "Hey, you gave me one not so long ago."

"For sentimental reasons," D'avin says, rolling his eyes. "Not literary enjoyment."

Johnny bends down over his trunk to rifle through his comic book collection until he finds one he deems worthy for the occasion. "You wouldn't know literature if it jumped you and bit you in the ass."

D'avin opens his mouth to protest but has to concede, "True."

"Say whatever you want, we're reading Issue 12 tonight."

" _The Lost Ring of Eternity_?" D'avin says and, by the looks of it, regrets it immediately.

Johnny stares at him in disbelief. "Stupid stories, my ass. You read them!"

"Fine," D'avin says. "Fine. Maybe I read an issue or two. Maybe..." He trails off and takes a breath. "Maybe a buddy of mine in the service had a complete collection and let me borrow them. Maybe they reminded me of you."

Johnny stares some more, Issue 12 clutched in his hand. He does not get misty-eyed. "Come here, you big softie."

The hug is fierce but quick, D'avin's hand fisted in the back of Johnny's shirt for the briefest moment. If Johnny is deliberately not looking at his brother's face to avoid the involuntary flutter of panic, well, no one's the wiser.

"Come on," Johnny says, pulling away. "Wouldn't want to keep Dutch waiting."

"Nooo. She gets cranky," D'avin agrees, conspicuously rubbing his eyes, and follows him down the corridor.

Dutch, being the great tactician that she is, realized her bed wouldn't be wide enough for three. She pulled some pillows onto the floor and made herself comfortable, propped up on her elbows.

"Boys," she says and pats the floor next to her. _Captain Apex_ Issue 41 is lying in front of her. "I thought we could go with a classic tonight."

"I like the way you think," Johnny says and lies down on his stomach next to her. He shoves the issue he brought under a pillow. "Number 12 is arguably one of the best, but this is better."

They both turn and look expectantly up at D'avin, who shuffles his feet and generally looks like he needs an engraved invitation.

"Get down here, idiot," Johnny tells him.

Still with a doubtful look on his face, D'avin gracefully lowers himself to the floor, the show-off, and stretches out next to Johnny. "What now?"

"Now we read," Dutch says and turns to the first page.

"We read," D'avin repeats doubtfully.

"It's surprisingly fun," Dutch says.

"Fangirl," Johnny fake-coughs loudly.

Dutch glares at him, and D'avin asks, "What, really?"

"Aaanyway," Dutch says pointedly. "I'm not doing all this reading on my own. You can carry your weight."

"Fine, but I'm Captain Apex," Johnny quickly demands. He knows his brother. His brother will want to play the hero.

Dutch narrows her eyes at them. "Only if I get to be the Admiral."

"You think you can be dastardly enough?" D'avin asks with a raised eyebrow.

Dutch gets that challenging glint in her eye. "You think I can't?"

"Trust me, she can," Johnny tells him.

"Honestly, Dutch," D'avin says solemnly. "I don't think there is anything you can't do."

Her face lights up with a smile like Johnny hasn't seen in a while. Johnny kind of wants to hug D'avin all over again right now. Dutch too, while he's at it.

"So we have a deal," she says.

"Guys." D'avin raises his hand, like they're in school or something. "Does that mean I have to be the Velubian Princess?"

"That depends," Johnny says. "Are you man enough for that?"

D'avin elbows him in the ribs. "Give that here. I'll show you." He reaches out and tries to grab the comic book.

"Hey," Dutch protests, snatching it away. "Narrator goes first. You're already the princess. We need a narrator."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" Lucy offers.

It's easy to forget that she's always with them, always listening. Even Johnny forgets sometimes. It's nice to be reminded.

"Awesome," Johnny says, warmth spreading in his chest. "Let's get this show on the road. Luce?"

"As you wish, Johnny," Lucy says. " _After valiantly dispatching the Admiral's hordes, Captain Apex receives a distress call from the Velubian Princess._ "

Dutch mouths "Quite Velubian" at Johnny, and he snickers.

" _As we return to our heroes,_ " Lucy continues, " _they are once again trapped on Laguna 37. Suddenly..._ "

D'avin stretches his neck to peer at the page and clears his throat. " _Captain Apex, watch out!_ " he squeals, and Dutch drops the comic book in helpless laughter.

Johnny rubs his ear. "D'av, seriously? Little girls would not reach those frequencies when faced with flying unicorns. Flying unicorns that poop rainbows."

"Yeah, yeah, everyone's a critic," D'avin mumbles. He's turning an adorable shade of red. "Get on with it."

Johnny grins and digs deeply to find the Captain Apex in himself. " _I'll handle this, Your Highness,_ " he growls.

"Ooh," Dutch says. "That's even better than last time. Love it. Right, D'av?"

"It's adequate," D'avin says, but he bumps his shoulder into Johnny's with a smile.

Dutch's elbow is digging into Johnny's ribs when she turns a page. D'avin's body is like a furnace pressed to his other side. 

Johnny wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

" _Meanwhile,_ " Lucy continues, " _in a galaxy far, far away, unimaginable evil was quietly afoot..._ "

 

**Author's Note:**

> The title is Johnny's own definition of 'team', as mentioned in episode 1x08. The beginning of Issue 41 is taken from the episode as well. The rest of the quotes and the other issues aren't canon in any way, shape or form.


End file.
